When you don't plan your travel properly.

That's me. I planned to have just enough to go by for the rest of July, travelling around and so on. Thankfully I'm putting up with friends in Milan, Cardiff and Ghent. Still looking for a couch in London for 2 nights though, any takers?

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So what's the problem? Problem was I was determined not to go home with negative (meaning borrowing money form my mum) and well I've planned to a point where the worst case scenario, I would come home with 0 in my bank and owe about 500 ringgit to credit card company. I know, it sucks to be 25 and yet be facing financial shits like that.

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What's the problem? I'm brought up never to owe credit card company money. We always pay on time. ALWAYS.

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What happened? The gas bill came yesterday and just realised I've to pay about 80 Euro. Didn't I see it coming? No. Italians always say to take like calmly.. tranquilla... When I ask bout the bills they are like 'neah its just electricity, the water bill never comes'. No mention of gas.

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What's next? I have to pay 30 Euro for my diploma. What's worse? The diploma will only be ready end of July. Wait a minute, we are all foreigners, does it make sense that we'll stay another month once done with our course? 'Oh, you can go to the bank and pay 4 Euros so we'll send it to you or you can arrange for a friend to pick it up for you'.

YEA LIKE I ONLY STAY 4 F*CKING HOURS AWAY.

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The other problem I have with them is first you queue for 30 minutes and they tell you, 'you need to pay 15 Euros at the bank'. Then you queue at the bank, then you go back to the uni office and queue for another 30 mins and they tell you 'you need the tax stamp', then you come back and queue another 30 minutes, n they go 'oh why dont you go pay 4 Euro at the bank so we can send the diploma to you?'. And queue another hour? The other problem is that the uni office and the banks only open in the morning with a long afternoon pause and about for 1.5 - 2 hours in late afternoon.

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Bumped into my professor today while queuing at the bank and he said 'students are always paying. always. if it's not this, it's that.'

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What's MY problem? I'm 100 Euro less. What's the big deal? 100 Euro equals to at least surviving for 3-4 days while travelling. What does this mean? This means sleeping on the streets of Rome.

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What's really going to piss me off when I get home? People who I call friends who goes :

• this is all you bought for me?
• what? why didn't you go to Nice in France, you were so close, wasted lah you, what you didn't go to Greece? Wasted lah, you don't know how to travel properly.
• Thinking in their heart 'this is all she bought for me?'
• What? you didn't dine out even once in Belgium, wasted lah you don't know how to experience the local culture.
• Why didn't you buy me something for every country?
• How come you spend so much for hostel? the last time I went I didn't spend that much, you don't know how to find properly is it?
• You go so long this is all you bought for me ah?
• You didn't try the Florentine steak? But it's an important Italian experience.
• What you didn't have enough money? Just spend lah, come home and worry later (yea say this again if you're going to foot my bill for me, otherwise, what am I going to do coming home with $0 in bank, jobless, owing credit card company money? sell my butt at Bukit Bintang?)

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There you go, just failed trying to be independent at 25. Probably will borrow money from mum to complete my travel. Worse if I do step out of the house when I'm home in Klang, that means my parents are supporting me monetarily.

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Yes I am in a nasty mood. Hate me all you want. ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I'm done with university and 2 more theatre shows to go

There we go, yours truly passed both her exams, I would say barely scrape through my theory. I saw more mistakes than correct answers but my oral exam helped me. They were like 'yea looks like your only problem is your written'.

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That's okay, not like I'm looking to teach Italian when I get home. I just want to speak. Anyhow at least that's out of the way.

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Had our first show last night, we were more excited than nervous and we had a lot of fun and it we performed to a full house and everyone loved it and I had great comments from the people I don't even know and there were several friends and acquaintances who came to watch and so it was grand!!!

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We ended the night with 5-6 metres of pizza and beers and wine and lots of dancing. I took off at 2.30am cause I had exam this morning. But that's what it's going to be for the next 2 nights. Pizza party!! Yes for party, we buy our pizzas by metre.

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Two more nights of dancing, pizzas, beer, wine and fresh homegrown w**d. And then the journey for me starts. Finally going to Napoli and Cinque Terre and then seeing Jerry, Priya and Lars again. Wooohooooo Excited!! But also feeling tired from the thought of all the travelling.

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Friday show will be the last but it would probably be the barest because it's the same time as the Italy-Ukraine match. Not to mention that is Italy wins, there will be lots of sound out there that will bother our show, but trust the partying on Friday to be the grandest in every part of Italy.

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3 months ago, as much as I knew I wanted to make the most out of my 3 mths here, I didn't think I'd end up in a theatre show with a great part, attending parties after parties, making more and more friends from all over the world and it's just awesome. Simply awesome.

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Of course not to mention that this guy that I have a crush on since I got here whom I hardly see around, moved to 2 doors away from me just 2 weeks ago. I always believe things happen for a reason and this too was a sign. hahaha... Happen just when I'm about to leave this city... There goes the librarian. .. Unbelievable... Priya, here's what you call 'amore ha perso'.

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Time to go home and meet my housemates.. Don't have much days with them and one's going home to Ancona soon. They are the greatest housemates one can ever have!!

The one about reality biting me..

Many call Perugia a love city, seeing that there's a big volume of local and foreign students here and of course most end up just being a 3 months or so relationship. It's okay, not like many are complaining. And things has been looking quite perfect from my perspective, like everything's going fine for everyone, people in theatre are hooking up in theatre and then just recently I realise no.. Things are not going well for many people, love isn't floating problem-free in the sky above us, and it's just like life everywhere.

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Wait, you would ask how is this affecting me if I'm not part of the scene? I'm writing from a spectator's point of view. You feel for people, know what I mean. Like the lady who's boyfriend or fiance of 8 yrs dumped her in Siena (Tuscany) during a holiday. I heard cause I was sitting in the bus behind her on the way to Florence. I started crying. I think many with dreams of Tuscany and Venice takes these places as THE PLACE. The place were dreams come true and what crap not and then you get dumped in what are known as the romantic places in the world. Wait, how can that happen? How do you come back to Tuscany again? How do you even find your way out of Tuscany to get yourself to get to an airport and hoping to find a flight home.. Alone. That's just one of the cases I've seen.

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I've not talk about these before.. But here there's a lot of hope. Hopes to find true love, hopes to find a European partner, hopes to get married here, hopes to get sweep off their feet by a knight in shining armour, hopes that they will end up like Frances Mayes in the movie Under The Tuscan Sun, hopes and hopes and more hopes.

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Call me whatever you want but Frances Mayes case, it's 1 in a billion. It's not wrong to have hopes, it's just very sad when dreams don't come true, and they don't come true usually for 80% of them. And then you see people who are sad and depress because they did not have the great italian escapade they thought they would...??

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My take on a great Italian escapade is this... If you work on it, you will get it. But if you're going to be shy and sit at a corner all the time hoping some guy would pick you up... Sorry la.. Only happen one in 2 billion. But even if you walk around in your sundress prancing around the cobbled streets, it may not happen. And once you really get to know the guy, you realise they are not what you would expect and it then becomes a letdown. And those who pick you up on the street isn't looking for a long-term romance by the way.

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ME? I'm just happy being me. Looking forward to seeing my friends when I travel next month, looking forward to Eric Clapton's concert, looking forward to bumping into Keanu Reeves before I head home to Malaysia. Romance and escapade? They happen when they want to, it's like a phone call, you should never wait for the phone to ring. Why get depress and sad about them not happening when you can do something more worthwhile.. like sleep.. HAHA

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I need to sleep before my debut tonight. AHEM..

The one about me messing up..

Last night was full rehearsal at theatre which ended at about 2am. When I got home I decided to make some carbonara to keep me awake to study for the exam today. It's grammar exam and with my capabilities at null at remembering anything I had to study. But I slept off at 3am. Okay, so I set my alarm at 6.30am, hopnig to study from 7am till 8.30 n then go for exam. Of course from 7.15am I slept till 9am.
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Great I woke up at 8.59am. Exam was at 9 in a school about 20 minutes away. I just love myself. I called my friend and asked her to tell my professor that I will be late. So two classes of people taking exam this morning had to wait for the presence of the superstar. ME.
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Then we had to select our choice of time for oral exam tomorrow and professors were soooo understanding, 'you can take the latest timing because you know you will be tired from all the theatre work'. Anyhow I chose 11am. I should be able to wake up after a couple of beers tonight with pizza after the show.
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Did I mention that there's some sections that I didn't study so before I went to the room for the exam, I went to the toilet and had a glance at 'imperativo'. Of course imperativo was part of the exam and I stared at it blankly. Toilet studying didn't help. So, oh well.. Hope my composition would help to bring my marks a bit higher.
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STORY OF MY LIFE.

FORZA ITALIA!!!

I absolutely am in love with the Italian spirit, the way they react when watching soccer games together, I cannot imagine them in the stadium watching the game live. It was absolutely amazing. If there is a crowd of 10 ppl watching live on tv 50 m away from you, you can hear them cheering and jeering. If there's a crowd of 100 watching together, you can hear them 500m away. No kidding!
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Of course if you watched the Italy - USA match, you would be like 'you gotta be kidding me'. I went to the university bar to watch the match after the first 25 mins, surrounded by 200 Italians, and one asked me after half-time, 'who are you supporting? Italy or USA?'
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Now if you watched the match you would agree with me and say USA, after all Italy played worse than crap. I went to the bar thinking perhaps 10-0, and then I watched them play and I thought it's a waste of time. The rumour about Italians being great at soccer must be a myth, after all they were playing against a nation that don't give a damn about soccer.
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Now, Italy is a 1st world country, but even so people still beat up people over soccer matches, even in Perugia! Me vs 200 Italians.. I said 'certamente Italia!!!' (certainly Italy!)
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I went home and started complaining to my housemates that I wasted 1.5 hours and they understood. It was a crap game. Even Italians admitted they played like crap.
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Anyhow, from now on, it is still FORZA ITALIA!!!! Will continue watching once done with theatre rehearsals.

Baci a tutti,
Angeline

Declaration - pls read, VERY IMPORTANT

Still down with dry cough, phelgm, bad throat, not to mention broke due to upcoming trips (which I'm not sure if I have enough to go around but 'speriamo').

Declaration

I can't afford souvenirs for everyone after all if I buy for one, I have to buy for the other 5, and I would have like 30 people (not forgetting my huge family) on my list and it would add up to more than 1k ringgit and it would seem like a ridiculous amount of money to spend on anyone else but myself, so.. I've invested all the money for souvenirs into funding my travelling to UK & Belgium.

Don't complain, even my parents are not getting anything from me. And I know you are all very understanding people therefore would prefer that I spend my money on seeing more places than to buy some silly Pope bottle opener for you.

Also, MAS' strict regulation on solely 20kg is hard on me. After all, I've been here for 3 mths - my books and etc (can't afford to mail my books home. it cost more than Euro 30).

Best I can do is cook you spaghetti when I come home (not that I'm great at it). I can make Tiramisu but geez, that dessert cost at least 50 ringgit. No kidding. After all I'm coming home penniless with credit card bills to pay. You all remember how it is being a poor student right?

After all, my cellphone isn't working, so I need to buy a new one when I get home..

That's what I am after first 2 mths here. I can only dream of pizza and gelato but not buying them. I know.. pathetic... BUT anyhow, all money that I will save will go to:

• Napoli
• Pompei
• Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, (Capri if I can afford it)
• Eric Clapton's concert
• Cinque Terre
• Milano
• London
• Cardiff
• Bath
• Ghent
• Brussels
• Bruges
• Finally, Rome after 3 yrs.. Haven't been to there since I came...

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR KIND SUPPORT & UNDERSTANDING!

ps. Sometimes I find myself so contradictive

My days ahead

Next week is the last week of classes (which is messed up because they changed the timetable for next week and all classes are in the evenings, which will clash with my theatre rehearsals).

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The week after will be my exam, spanned over 27th & 28th June, at the same time my theatre performance will be 28, 29 and 30th June. Which perhaps would be fun, it's experimental theatre or rather just a group of 35 people messing around in the garden, I don't know but yes at some point I would classify it as high-art. Check it out at www.humanbeings.it

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Just trying to get myself mentally prepared for theatre rehearsals, it's 6 hours a day now and next week it would be daily.

Come studio per l'esame? Non lo so. Studio molto (piu di quando sono stata in Malaysia) ma non ho imparato niente. Come sempre. Certamenta non è sorpresa. Comunque voglio studiare Italiano solo per parlare, speriamo che io possa parlare bene (piu di qualche mesi fa) quando tornerò in Malaysia.

Bleh.....

Dancing queen, feel the beat of the tambourineeeeeeeeeeee....

What am I doing now.. Of course, looking for cheap 5 GBP musical tickets.. Wait, why did I miss STOMP when they were in Malaysia? Oh....

I went to Arezzo yesterday for the afternoon. This great small town that the only reason people go visit is because that's where they made the movie 'Life is Beautiful' by Benigni.
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To be honest, I don't remember the cinematography of the film much but the town had notice boards like guide that tells you which part of the movie was filmed at those spots. Nice touch, instead of letting people wander aimlessly looking for familiar spots. But even so, without being the setting for the movie, it's a beautiful town altogether.
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If I had gone in the morn, I would be able to cover Cortona too, but let's just say I waltzed out of the house at noon. One fine day when I have the time, I guess I shall make my way to Cortona to see if I can make anything out of the American movie, 'Under The Tuscan Sun', but honestly June is going to be really busy with theatre rehearsal going more than 3 times a week and the fact that I have exam in 3 weeks time, 3 parts, writing essay, speaking and objective.
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Yesterday was Ale's post-birthday celebration. (Ale is a Canadian guy I got to know from theatre). We invaded an amphitheater with tons of drinks and chips and hoped to play Goth music. It started drizzling and of course as the cool lot, we stayed on and I was suppose to be introduced to Goth music last night but somehow or rather I ended up only hearing Evanescence. Pop goth. over-commercialised goth perhaps?
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I learnt something last night. The more vodka there is in your system, the more Italian you speak. My professor said before that the problem with us is that we're afraid to make mistakes, therefore we don't speak as much as we should, but I tell you, the solution is to have a good amount of vodka in your system and you will blab the whole night through in a language you never thought you mastered.
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Many people still don't know what tequila pop is. 3 yrs ago I faced this problem here and the only people who knew what tequila pop was are the Mexicans and Canadians. Now, it's a good idea for a party.
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I quit choir. Maestro said if I'm not going to be around in July for the performance then I don't need to attend rehearsals. :o( So I have 2 extra free hours every week.
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Procrastinator...

I am here because..

• It's laundry day and I feel lazy
• One article due and I have no idea
• I am hungry but if I go home that means I need to eat and then do laundry
• If I do laundry that means I need to go to the laundromat to use the dryer
• I need to check my flight and connections to Belgium and UK
• I need to decide when I am going home.. HOME.
• By Monday I need to do all the bookings and calling
• I wonder if once my Schengen visa expire, when I enter Italy from London, will they automatically give me a tourist visa?
• I wonder where am I going tomorrow? Orvieto or Arezzo and Cortona?

Time to go... and cook and eat.. and wash... wash...

The day I fell flat on my face

Literally. No kidding. On my face, if I had a sharp nose I'd broken it by now but instead my upper lip is swollen on one side so I look a little funny. Other than that I just feel pain whenever I laugh and have a very bad headache.
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It was yesterday on my way back from school going to choir class that I tripped on a pavement and I thought I stopped myself with both hands on the ground, but somehow they gave way and my face went flat on the ground. Doesn't make sense but I never understood Physics anyway.
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I still believe I was pushed. Like it or not one day I'ìm going to shout 'ma vaffanculo, vai via!!' over my back.
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Now my head still feels heavy and sitting here in a daze. No kidding. Got a class now, so gotta run.. Just came to update everyone that I fell on my face yesterday. HAHAHA And it bloody hurts!
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I am going to Brussels in July!! Woohooo!!!

Singapore says dark soy sauce is healthier than Red wine

Just when you think it's okay to have bottles ready to be open in your home everyday and drink every other night (exagarating, I don't) some researcher in Sgp says dark soy sauce is healthier. Great, time to make drinks out of dark soy sauce!

Did I mention that I tried absinthe and I almost puke? (exagarating, I just didn't like it thats all). A little unnatural for alcohol to be bright green in colour I'd think.

You know how they say wine is cheaper than water in Italy, it's true, but also keep in mind that the cheaper the wine is, the yuckier they taste. I didn't know the difference of good and bad but now I can roughly tell. Anyway, a good wine is about half the price at home, so no biggie.

Students can only afford 1.50 Euro wine really, so good or bad, we just swallow.

This week has been the coldest in Perugia, it was never this cold before, not even in my first mth here, it's mad.. all my clothes are freezing cold even before I put them on. Not good for my knees..

Okay time to go to Ipercoop.. It's Saturday.. bla bla